They said they would come back
by The forsaken
Summary: A group of 3 space farers stumble across a secret buried deep in the ground
1. Chapter 1

Planet Azhara  
Alpha sector  
Star date 2433  
Orbit

"What is that?" Aryon fiddled with display, attempting to increase the resolution of the small, boxy grey object floating in geo synchronous orbit above the planet. He brushed a lock of dusty brown hair from his eyes and leaned closer to the monitor.  
"Looks like some kind of station to me, though-" suddenly the screen flickered and went out in a hail of sparks. Aryon cursed.  
"In the name of..."  
He leaned back in the cockpits creaky old command chair, cursing under his breath as he waited for the faulty monitor to boot back up. He turned his head slightly to peer out the cockpit. He could see the station, though it was just a small glimmer from here. He stared at it, trying to discern but a glimmer of detail from the tiny grey speck. There was another shower of sparks from behind him.  
"-EVE monitor offline. Please *bzzt* contact Extra Vehicular Electronics support services. Thank you for-" the monitor died suddenly in yet another flash of light and stinking smoke. Aryon cursed profusely and dragged himself from the chair to fix the deceased monitor.

Surface

The small creature wobbled unsteadily through the caves darkness, it's two small lower appendages working rapidly as it's trio of large dark eyes swept the darkness. Catching the small flash of reflected water the creature chittered in delight, already expecting the lush palate of microorganisms it would find there. The creature tottered its small, smooth body over to the edge of the water. It chittered happily again and prepared to submerge when something unusual caught its eye. Down the dark tunnel and around the corner a light had appeared. The glow steadily increased until the small creature was forced to squint. It groaned uncomfortably and lowered itself slowly into the water leaving its third eye, the light sensitive one, above to watch curiously. The first being to round the corner was tall, with two long legs and arms, one of which held the a short, thick stick that emitted light from one end. The area where it's face should have been was smooth and tinted blue, like water. It also seemed to be covered in a sort armored plates, like the ones the predators lower in the caves had. The creature subconsciously submerged itself lower. The armored being stepped into the cavern, sweeping the walls with the accursed light. It was followed by a second being who was built similarly to the first, if a bit taller.  
It appeared to be made of a grey, metallic armor and it's two eyes glowed a deep red. The creature could hear a dull whirring with its every step. The grey being stepped in and turned towards the creature, who at that time decided to promptly depart and ducked underwater with a small splash, it's lower half separating into a mass on tentacles as it jetted off into the dark to feed.

"What was that?" Gregor asked, shining his flashlight onto the pool, which still quivered slightly with ripples.  
"-Factual. Just an Amphibian. Curious. Further study of these caves could be beneficial to our Xeno catalog.-" Gregor rolled his eyes and scanned the ceiling with the flashlight.  
"We're not here to study Invictus, we just need to gather enough fuel to get a Aryons ship away from this poisonous, monster infested icebox." IN-victus didn't show any sign of response other than quietly transmitting a few lines of code to himself. Gregor grunted and continued to shine the light over the caverns pitted walls, finally stopping over a section that was a bit darker than the others.  
"There you are you little bugger. Invictus, mind handing me the matter manipulator?" The glitch did so, hefting the bulky machine and handing it to the armored human. He grabbed it with two hands and pointed it at the section of wall.  
"I swear the damn thing gets heavier every time"  
"-Factual. That isn't possible.-"  
"Shut up." Gregor adjusted the settings slightly and pulled the trigger. The device shook violently and let out a dull roar. Suddenly a beam of blue light spat from its front and struck the wall, grinding away at the deposit. Gregor braced himself as he tried to keep the erratically shaking device on target. Finally, the blue beam sucked back into the device and it's motion and sound cut off abruptly. Gregor took a step back, letting the device fall to arms length. His ragged panting came through his helmet speaker as a staticky dull roar.  
"-Curious. How much?-" Gregor hefted the device once again to peer at the display. He groaned.  
"A pound and a half."  
"-Doubtful. That won't power a space ship.-"  
"Really? Gee I couldn't figure that out mysel-" IN-victus held up a metallic hand, cutting him off suddenly. Gregor was about to retort when he realized why. Deeper In the cave a snuffling, scratching sound could be heard faintly, though it was drawing closer. IN-victus slowly unlimbered a large sword and shield from his back, the steel singing a single note as it was drawn. Gregor drew his pistol, aiming it down the corridor with one hand and holding the flashlight with the other. Whatever was coming was coming fast, and it wasn't alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Orbit

Aryon stared forlornly out of the cockpit into the void of space. The station was but a small sparkle peeking over the curving horizon of the planet. He hadn't had any contact with Gregor or the glitch since they had reported on entering a cave to attempt to have better luck on finding fuel for the ship. It wasn't that he was worried about them, he just wanted somebody to bloody talk to. Sure there was the captain, but she...  
He lowered his head in his hands and wondered if the stars had become easier to count since he last tried. The space station glimmered enticingly again, inviting exploration and promising an end to boredom. It was probably one of the most convincing campaigns that Aryon had ever heard. Surely he could get over to it without using to much fuel. He sat up in his chair and peeked over his shoulder. The door to the main cabin was sealed. As silently as he could he turned in the chair and flicked on one of the monitors. His hands flew across the keyboard as the monitor lit up, displaying graphs and statistics.  
"Computer." Aryon whispered "begin pre flight checks."

Surface

The first creature to round the corner looked like a horrible cross between an armadillo, a spider and a crocodile. It had six double jointed legs which skittered furiously as it rushed towards the two spacefarers. It was covered in deep red bony plates which protected a leathery body underneath. It's head was covered in small, green eyes and its mouth split open to reveal a set if mandibles crammed full of huge, pointy teeth. The creature was about the size of a man.  
"For the love of..." Gregor attacked first, firing his pistol at the rapidly advancing monster. The bullet struck it in the head, bouncing off an armored plate with a crack followed by a reverberating whine. The creature roared in anger and charged at IN-victus. The glitch flicked his sword, causing a multitude of teeth set around the edges of the blade to rotate, then brought it down on the charging beasts head. The blade scraped off in a shower of sparks and the creature slammed into the robot, dashing him against a wall with a sharp crack. Gregor struggled to keep the flashlight on the fight so iN-victus could see while simultaneously keeping watch for more monsters using his peripheral vision. IN-victus brought up his shield just as the alien brought one of its clawed feet down to smash him. There was a crack of splintering wood but the shield held. Undeterred, the monster reared back and smashed its head down, it's mouth agape. IN-victus brought up his sword simultaneously. There was the sickening sound if meat being sawed and a spray if blue blood. The creature reared back, one of its mandibles hanging by a thread and dripping blue ichor. Its enraged scream came as a choked gurgle. IN-victus mechanically got to his feet and took a ready stance, the crushed buckler held up defensively. Gregor aimed and pulled the trigger twice more, now provided with a clear shot. The first bounced off just as unsuccessfully as the last but the second bullet slammer into one of the beasts leg joints, stumbling it slightly. It backed off warily. Gregor shot it twice more and it skittered off.  
He lowered the gun slowly, panting.  
"That sounded like there was a lot more of those..." IN-victus looked over his shoulder.  
"Worried. There is." Gregor turned. Standing at the entrance to the cavern crouched two more of the aliens, their green eyes glowing hungrily.  
"You've got to be joking..."

Orbit

"Aryon." Aryon cringed. He hadn't even heard the door open. "What are you doing?"  
"Just... Eh... Running some checks on the system captain."  
"Checks that involve spooling up the engines?" Aryon struggled to reply.  
"Well...ah..." Giving up he let his head fall into his hands.  
"And just where did you plan to go?"  
"Looks like a station just over the horizon. I just wanted to... Dammit captain I just need to be bloody doing something..." The captain played half-heartedly with a lock of her dark hair.  
"And burn our previous fuel?"  
"Not a lot! Just a two second burst, the momentum would carry him the rest of the way!"  
"Yes, but you don't give orders here Aryon, I do." Aryon sighed.  
"Yes ma'm."  
"Now in that case..." Aryon felt her lean lightly on the back of the chair. She smelled slightly of flowers.  
"Helmsman, give us a two second burst, dock us with that station."  
"Y-yes ma'm! Two second burst Aye!" Flustered Aryon pressed the throttle forward slightly and with a roar of engines the ship began to drift through space. With a hiss the cockpit door slid open, letting in the sickly odor of rotting flowers. Standing there was a floran, much larger than Aryon, two primitive swords strapped to his back. It's red eyes regarded him suspiciously.  
"Why move?"  
"Don't worry Claw." Replied the captain. "I gave him permission." The floran regarded Aryon once more, shrugged and walked out.  
"Estimated contact with station in 30 minutes."


End file.
